The South West Phoenix Firebirds are currently putting the finishing touches on their pre-season as they gear up for another season in the Football West State League - Division One.
It's a new-look Firebirds' side in 2020, after a big turnover of players. Similarly to 2018, the Firebirds will look to develop a young list to set them up for the future.
From the 2019 squad, only six players remain. Kashia King, Shauna Wetherell, Jordan Sheedy, Analeise Gibaut, and Nicole Suttie will provide the experience, with young gun Grace Miller also returning.
The Firebirds have been able to retain experience in defence, which ensures a solid structure to build from.
With Wetherell still pulling the strings in midfield, young players will have a better chance to flourish around the experience.
Indeed, the side will start the season with four 14-year-olds, albeit three of them already have experience playing at this level.
Notable absentees from 2019 include captain Lucy Scott (who is expecting her first child), Asha McClurg and and Katie McDermott (both moving to USA to play college soccer), Eliza Griffiths, and goalkeeper Dayle Schroeder (now at Premier League outfit Fremantle).
The Firebirds have looked to offset this with some positive gains, with former SWSA Golden Boot Savannah Olsthoorn signing, along with youngster Lara Graham - who is an NTC associate.
Graham represented WA at U14 level last year, and put in a very eye-catching performance against the Northern Redbacks U23s last weekend.
Three other young players represented the WA Regional State Team in Singapore in 2019.
The Firebirds have had a solid pre-season featuring four official warm-up matches - three of which have been intentionally very difficult as they prepare for life in Division One.
It has been the most comprehensive pre-season since entering the competition in 2018, and was designed to ensure there will be no surprises in the quality of opposition once Division One kicks off in early April.
The side is unlikely to encounter any team in Division One which is stronger than the Redbacks' side which defeated them 3-1 in Sunday's friendly, so the Firebirds look to be well prepared.
With such a high turnover of players, a good run of friendly matches was always going to be crucial.
"We needed a high number of pre-season matches given we have such a new squad," coach Stephen Suttie said.
"We need time to get things right but the girls have worked really hard since January.
"Essentially, we are a pathway club and given our geographical location, we are always going to have some years with a high turnover of players.
"Many players have gone on to bigger and better things, and now we are excited to bring through our next batch of players, and we think they will do well."
It is a 14-team Division One this year, with each side playing each other once before the league is split in half - with the top seven and bottom seven then playing off.
The primary target for the Firebirds will to be to finish in the top seven, along with showing good improvement throughout the season as the building blocks are put in place for 2021.
The standards have been high for the Firebirds in the past two years, and they will be looking to continue that in 2020.
